Gallifreyan Word
by Abboz
Summary: Set in the SwitchVerse, after "Heightened Emotions". Reminded of the beauty of the Gallifreyan language, Rose is eager to learn more from the Doctor. This he sees as the perfect time to tell her the one thing he's been waiting to say.


Gallifreyan Word

"Will you teach me Gallifreyan?" Rose covered the Doctor's hands with her own, pushing his palms flat against the pages of her notebook. He slipped one hand from underneath hers, wrapping it firmly around her waist as he kissed her temple. "You don't have to." She shifted in his embrace, settling into a more comfortable position between his legs. "It's just that watching you run your fingers over the words in here, and value every word like this means so much to me. It reminds me of when you used to show me Gallifreyan, it's so beautiful and I just adore it."

"Of course I'll teach you." Before she knew he'd moved he was running a hand through her hair, his touch lingered against the back of her neck. It was a subtle prompt but she understood completely, lifting her head so she could meet his gaze. He ran his fingers along her jaw, caressing her skin with a tenderness that brought her close to tears. "Oh so long ago when I showed you that very first Gallifreyan word, it wasn't just to show you a few unconnected words. I wanted you to learn Gallifreyan, and I wanted to be the one to teach you, still do. I always hoped you'd grow to love the language but I never imagined it would mean so much to you." He leant forward and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. "You know, right from the start I wanted to share everything with you. So many times I found myself telling you things I would never admit to anyone else, half the time I didn't even realise I was baring so much to you. I just wanted to make you part of every little bit of my universe."

"I remember you telling me how precious Gallifreyan is to you." A smile began to show on her lips. "Knowing you want to share it with me though, well it still takes my breath away." She raised a hand to his cheek. "You have no idea how loved you make me feel."

"I can only hope it's half as loved as you make me feel." He placed his hand over hers and pulled it from his face, kissing her palm and holding it there for a moment. "I always regretted that we never had much time for Gallifreyan, we didn't get very far did we? But now we've got plenty of time; we have all the time in the world."

"I'd love to start learning again; we never wasted our time though. I do remember a few words."

"Like what?" A smile tugged at his lips. He watched as she silently flicked to the back of her notebook, her eyes sparkling as she caught sight of his growing smile. He soaked in the swirling lettering, each curve drawn so naturally and instinctively that had he not known better he would have thought she'd known Gallifreyan her whole life. Just two simple words but ones that meant so much to him, even more so when written so beautifully in her handwriting. He ran his fingers over the second word, tracing the path that he knew her pen had taken. "'Rose'."

"And 'the Doctor'." She shifted her hand up the page, brushing her thumb across the last circle of the word.

"That doesn't say 'the Doctor'." There was only affection in his voice, the tone soft and hinting at something she was tempted to believe was awe.

"Oh?" She bit her lip. "Which bit did I do wrong?" She looked at the circular patterns on the page, trying to remember what was different from what he'd once shown her. She was eager to learn and get it right, but it saddened her to know that the beautiful word she'd purposefully written so many times before didn't say what she thought it had.

"No, it's perfect, Rose." He pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead. "But it doesn't mean 'the Doctor'. That's my real name."

She reached for his hand, tear filled eyes never leaving his. As her smile widened she slipped her hand into his and gently squeezed. "What does it say?" He pushed his free hand into her hair and gently cupped the back of her head. With a smile he leant closer, savouring the moment as he whispered into her ear. Before he could move away she was twisting her head and pressing her face against his. Her breath felt warm against his skin and her lips brushed his as she spoke. "It's so beautiful." Her cheeks were now damp with tears but she didn't notice; she was too wrapped up in him to care about anything else. She had never imagined that one word could hold so much of her Doctor or that hearing it could fill her with so much of his love.

"_My __Rose._" He smiled against her skin, feathering kisses across her cheeks.

She brought a hand up to his face and guided his lips to hers. "I love you."

"I'm all yours. Every last inch of everything I am, all of it's yours." No one word could make that any more real for either of them, not even his true name, but by no means did that make the moment any less significant. His name held a thousand promises to her, but most importantly his promise of forever. "I love you with everything I have and I always will. I'm _always _yours. Everything, Rose, forever."

She was beaming at him now, hardly able to contain her joy. She ran a hand through his hair, watching the strands spring back into place. "Come here, you big softy."


End file.
